FETAL at Frank Theatre

Frank Theatre remounts the successful world premiere of Trista Baldwin’s new play, FETAL.

Set in a Texas clinic on the day of the announcement of the Dobbs decision which overturned Roe v Wade, FETAL encompasses a kaleidoscope of reproductive journeys in an unfiltered exploration of women’s physical realities. Written at the end of federal abortion rights, Baldwin says, “FETAL is a love song to the body and a howl for freedom.”

Four women on very different reproductive journeys find themselves in the waiting room of a Texas abortion provider on the day the court is weighing the Dobbs decision. Lucy works in corporate finance and has an 8 year old daughter. Cass is a graduate student in her 30s who dates women, but has had a recent fling with a man. Liv is a teen, whose parents believe all abortion is murder. Anne, a clinic worker (and sometimes, the voice inside their own heads), grills each of them on their choices and reasons for being there. The stories reveal the complex decisions they have made to end their pregnancies. As Anne’s story emerges, the serious and rarely acknowledged health risks of childbirth are detailed. Suddenly, the court’s decision is announced and the notion of choice vanishes; the only choice is for women to band together and rise up.

Playwright Trista Baldwin is a former resident of the Twin Cities, now based in Seattle. She has been a recipient of Jerome Fellowships, a McKnight Advancement Grant, a Saison Foundation residency, a Japan Foundation Grant, and is an alum of the Core Writer program at the Playwrights’ Center of Minneapolis. Her work has been produced around the country and internationally in the UK, Australia, Chile and Japan. Producers of her work include Women’s Project, The Flea Theatre, The Guthrie, Bricolage Production Co., New Georges, Circle X, Red Eye, Live Girls!, Saison Foundation of Japan and Santiago a mil Festival of Chile, and others. More info at tristabaldwin.com.

Performances are Thur, Fri and Sat at 7:30, and Sun at 2:00.

SEATING IS LIMITED, SO ADVANCE PURCHASE IS RECOMMENDED.

Mask-wearing will be required at all performances.